one wish

So far, it's been two years in a row.

If I keep it up, one day I'll get to those places I've always dreamed of.

Fingers crossed.

{image via experience the world}

Once when their world was their playground

Sometime in the late 1930's, my grandparents took this photo on an England beach somewhere up north. 

Young and carefree, just before the war. 

Happy and in love. 

A playful Grandpa way before he got ill and a radiant, relaxed grandma, who in her old age has become so reserved. 

I like to imagine that on this day, nothing in the world mattered to them. 

the one that got away

They say that feeling of that one love affair that existed in your life, the one that gave you shivers down your spine, the one that gave you butterflies (and still does) in your tummy, the one that you dreamt of every night, the one you shed tears over, will never go away. 

Mine has lasted over a decade. 

And will never cease to fade.

The only difference is that my love affair was not one with a boy but one with New York. It was short and sweet. It took my breath away. It caused my heart to palpitate in ways I could never have imagined. It gave me chills when I breathed in its life. It broke my heart fourteen years ago when I knew i wouldn't be back. That one relationship I can't let go of, the one that holds my heart in an unimaginable grasp.

The one that got away.

{image via Jessica Illustration}

{NYC sketches via Robert Scholten}

two peas in a pod

They're like Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

Attached at the hip. 

Best buddies. 

Some even think they're twins.

It's nice to see little friendships mean something to three year olds. 

a second chance with that little blue camera

This trip was exactly two months ago.

I like that after two months I have little surprises waiting for me. I like that I forgot what photos I took and I like that the moment I get my prints back is when I actually remember. 

This little thing makes me happy.

I think I've neglected my little diana and have a little reminder that she needs some attention once in a while. 

when v came to see us

It was like yesterday we sat in my lounge in my little flat keeping warm in the crisp spring weather. Like yesterday we ate that vongole in a little restaurant in Soho. Like yesterday we danced around singing to "Part of Your World". Like yesterday we climbed the Eiffel Tower and ran along the Paris roundabouts. Like yesterday we salsa-ed in a Brazilian club in central London. Like yesterday she held the little man in her arms making sure he would always remember her. 

Three years ago, I walked away from V on my brick lined street and turned off into the park with tears running down my face as I left London with the angst and anxiety I never expected. 

Three years on, we sat in my new renovated house that I'm finally back in. Three years on, we ate vongole on a humid night in Manila restaurant. Three years on,  we sat in bed in our pajamas singing "Part of Your World". She boogied with her new favourite little boy as I watched them bond over Spiderman and Captain America. We drove up the mountains, ate lunch in a garden sanctuary and spent a day within a walled city of Old Manila. She made sure the little one would always remember her and kissed him goodbye knowing that he would.

So forgive me for being in hiding this May. 

Three years is a lot to catch up on. 

"April come she will when streams are ripe and swelled with rain"

This 36° Manila summer has been devouring me with its heat. 

I can't seem to get anything done.

Forgive me for the blogging drought, I never thought my thoughts would be so parched and arid, especially after my Blogging From the Heart e-course. What a wonderful thing to have been a part of, I just wish my life outside my online world allowed me to keep up with all the inspiration that was being shared.

With April being my worst month ever in the two years of blogging, the last thing I want is a repeat of an unimaginative space. 

So here's to hoping May brings me lots to stock up on, throws me thoughts to ponder on, and gives me moments to  share.